Access to Insurance Initiative Newsletter 3/2017

Welcome to our monthly newsletter, where we update insurance regulators and supervisors on the work of the Initiative, inform you about events and publications, and share experiences and learning across jurisdictions.

Visit us at www.a2ii.org.

Recent Events

21st A2ii-IAIS Consultation Call on ‘Measuring insurance development: beyond the insurance penetration rate’

23 March 2017

In response to a survey issued to supervisors on Consultation Call topics, the 21st Consultation Call explored the topic of measuring insurance development with tools beyond the traditional insurance penetration rate. During the call experts stressed the need to look deeper than the penetration rate to measure both market development and client value and examined indicators as well as data collection practices for doing so. Insights and knowledge on the topic were shared by supervisors from Ghana and Malaysia. A total of 80 supervisors from 32 jurisdictions participated on the call.

Discussion evolved around the following points:

• Indicators and benchmarks used to measure market development and client value, such as the claims ratio, combined ratio, retention rate, growth ratio and product variety indicators
• The need to have a clear definition of microinsurance/inclusive insurance before commencing data collection
• The step-wise nature of data collection and need to have segregated data, and the need to be pragmatic and begin with data that is most easily collectible
• The need to set realistic targets in financial inclusion strategies and to have evidence-based policy and regulation in the context of risk-based supervision

The presentations can be found here and a full report summarising the call will be available soon.

9th Consultative Forum on agricultural insurance for smallholder farmers and 12th Annual Conference of the Asian Forum of Insurance Regulators

14-15 March 2017, Singapore:

On the afternoon of 14 March 2017, 50 supervisors, policymakers and insurance industry representatives from 14 countries gathered at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to discuss the challenges and potential of insurance as a tool to reduce the vulnerability of smallholder farmers against disaster risks.

The Forum noted that while there is now greater recognition and political support, both nationally and internationally, many challenges remain in terms of scaling up. Panellists from India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines shared their experiences with both indemnity and index-based agricultural insurance. It was underlined from the African Risk Capacity’s experience with sovereign risk financing that efficient risk-sharing arrangements between individuals, communities, regional government and sovereign levels are increasingly possible given developments in digital technologies, technical knowledge and global risk markets. Participants also discussed considerations that should go into regulatory approval of an index insurance product.

Implementation challenges discussed at the Forum included:  

• Product customisation to farmers’ needs and linking to the agricultural value chain, given the volatility and diversity of the agricultural sector.
• Availability and quality of data, which often rests with government agencies and is not publicly available or recorded in a form that is suitable for insurance purposes. 
• Effective delivery, where processes such as claims and enrolment are done in a timely manner, given the reliance on community or local organisations. 
• The appropriate role of long-term state subsidies in providing sustainable agricultural insurance for smallholder farmers.
• Increase in the use of technology – such as satellite data and mobile insurance – to make index insurance more cost-effective and scalable in the long run.

The IAIS, the Microinsurance Network and the A2ii jointly organised the 9th Consultative Forum, which was kindly hosted by the MAS. All event materials are on the A2ii website and a conference report will be available in April.

The 12th Annual Conference of the Asian Forum of Insurance Regulators took place two days after the 9th Consultative Forum from 16-17 March 2017, also at the MAS. Chaired by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and attended by regulators from 21 countries, the theme for 2017 was ‘Regulation and Supervision in a Disruptive Landscape’. Regulators shared updates on regulatory priorities for the year and exchanged perspectives on coping with disaster risks as well as innovations in the insurance sector. Participants also heard updates from the IAIS, A2ii, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Asian Development Bank. The A2ii participated in a panel and spoke on its observations on the innovations that have been happening in the inclusive insurance space, highlighting the arising risks to the industry.

IAIS Implementation Committee Meeting

1 March 2017, Basel, Switzerland

The A2ii provided a short report to the Implementation Committee on its recent activities and workplan for 2017. A draft of the report summarising the results of the survey on supervisory development needs conducted jointly by the IAIS and A2ii was also presented at the meeting. The report will now be finalised and then used to inform the A2iis work plan going forward as well as the IAIS’s implementation activities more broadly.

In addition, the A2ii joined other IAIS members in discussing the IAIS’s draft emerging market strategy – a paper examining ways the IAIS can better engage and support its broader membership. Discussions were also held on the IAIS’s assessment and implementation monitoring.

UK to help businesses and governments get better access to insurance against natural disasters

16 March, London, UK

In a joint event with the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) announced that they will step up efforts to help businesses and governments in emerging economies get better access to insurance against natural disasters so that they can prepare for potential emergencies and recover more quickly. The event “Transforming investment risk” brought together the private sector, NGOs and policymakers to explore what will make it easier for companies to invest in emerging economies in order to help developing nations create jobs and speed economic growth.

One part of the event was dedicated to identifying the main opportunities and challenges relating to insurance market development and to discuss with industry players what is needed to fundamentally shift the market and increase coverage. It was highlighted that regulation and supervision is often an impediment to building robust insurance markets in many emerging economies. It was also highlighted that policymakers need to make insurance a policy priority. Conor Donaldson from the IAIS Secretariat represented the IAIS and A2ii in this event.

More information on the event can be found here on DFID’s website.

Participate in our Events!

Increasing Women’s Financial Protection: What Can Insurance Do?

20 April 2017, Washington D.C.

'Increasing women's financial protection: What can insurance do?' will be held on 20 April as a side event the World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington DC from 10- 11:15 am. The event is being co-hosted by the IFC Gender Secretariat, Finance & Markets, and the Financial Institutions Group, GIZ’s Sector Initiatives Social Protection and Global Initiative for Access to Insurance on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Women’s World Banking. ''Mainstreaming Gender and Targeting Women in Inclusive Insurance: Perspectives and Emerging Lessons: A Compendium of Technical Notes and Case Studies" featured at the event, was further developed in collaboration with the A2ii and the Self-Employed Women’s Association. 

22nd A2ii-IAIS Consultation Call

18 May 2017

Our next Consultation Call will be held on 18 May with the topic still to be determined. We are always keen to hear preferred topics from supervisors and encourage you to submit any requests for future calls either to consultation.call@a2ii.org or through our website.

10th Consultative Forum on ‘Scaling up agricultural index insurance in Africa: building disaster resilience of smallholder farmers’

24-25 May 2017, Kampala, Uganda

The African Insurance Organisation, IAIS, the Microinsurance Network and the A2ii will hold its 10th Consultative Forum on “Scaling up agricultural index insurance in Africa: Building disaster resilience of smallholder farmers” on the afternoon of Wednesday, 24th May and morning of Thursday, 25th May 2017 in Kampala, Uganda.

This Forum will focus on the challenges and opportunities of agricultural index-based insurance and explore how the various stakeholders – insurance supervisors, the industry, policymakers and donors – can cooperate and align their respective roles to achieve sustainability and scale while ensuring fair treatment of smallholder farmers.

The Consultative Forum takes place alongside the 44th AIO Conference and General Assembly. Supervisors, policymakers and industry players are highly welcome to attend.

Further information and registration forms are available here. For queries please contact A2ii Sub-Saharan Africa regional coordinator Janice Angove (janice.angove@fsb.co.za).

Recent Publications

Report on the 8th Consultative Forum

The summary report from the 8th Consultative Forum is available on our website in both English and Spanish. The Forum took place on 1 December 2016 in San Juan, Costa Rica and focused on the topic of ‘Challenges and opportunities presented by alternative distribution channels’.

Report of 20th A2ii-IAIS Consultation Call on ‘Reinsurance’

The report from the 20th Consultation on ‘Reinsurance’, which took place on 26 January 2017, is now available in English. The topic of the call was selected in response to requests from the IAIS Executive Committee as well as Latin American supervisors and welcomed a record number of participants. To read more about discussions and content please click here. French and Spanish versions will be available shortly.

Announcements

Job Vacancy: Communications Manager

We are looking for a communications manager who will be responsible for communicating the work of the A2ii to global audiences, manage A2ii’s web and social media channels, oversee the production of PR and knowledge products and liaise with key stakeholders to amplify A2ii’s messages. To find out more information about the position and how to apply, please click here.

Applications close on 21 April 2017.